Hopper door for railway cars



' 1,638,] 1 1927' v. s|ssoN 7 HOPPER DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS Original Filed Auz. 10, 1925 2 .Zhuenzg 1 v Patented Aug. 9, 1927.

nsrrsn STATES rarest VINTON E. SISSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO, UNION METAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF GHICAGQ, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

' HOPPER DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Original application filed August 10, 1925, Serial No. 49,295. Divided and this application filed March 15, 1926. Serial No. 94,995.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention'is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof withinthe scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

The invention relates to a railway dump car having a door forming a part of the car for retaining the load therein which door is provided with hinges adjacent one of its edges and is capable of being dropped or swung open so that the load in discharging slides or passes over the upper surface of the door. Any means of raising the door to the closed position and any means for locking and releasing the door may be employed with my device.

Experience has shown that a slight projection on the upper surface of such a door causes the discharging load to bank up and seriously retard the unloading of the car sometimes completely obstructing the opening and at other times causing some of the material to remain in t 1e car. It is essential that the entire load be discharged when the doors are dropped in order to conserve time when the cars are being used to ballast a main line track, or to eliminate the necessity of maintaining men to remove any small portion of the load that remains in the car after the doors are dropped.

The relative position of the rail, the truck (and other parts of. the car) and service conditions also regulate the inclination of the door after it is dropped, so that it is seldom possible to allow the doors to drop to a vertical position; in fact, in adrop bottom gondola car the doors are positioner only about thirty (80) degrees from a horizontal plane when in open position.

A door'for this purpose must be very strong and durable because:

First, it is a part of the floor of the car and as such must sustain the load as well as the impact blow of the load when the car is in motion. Second, the car is frequently loaded from chutes or tipples from aheightof ten feet or more. causing the load to be dropped directly upon the doors. Third, clam shell buckets are frequently used to unload such cars and it is-not uncommon for these buckets to restupon and dragover the doors. Fourth, when the door suddenly comes to rest after being dropped, it is not only subjected to a severse shock but it must sustain the severe impact thrust of the load which, of course, follows the door. Fifth, as the load is theoretically equally distributed, the door must be strong over its entire area and must be capable of transmitting the resulting stresses to the car body without much deflection and no substantial distortion. Any bending of the door or drooping of the corners would cause a leak of the lading, especially of such fine material as sand, chats, etc. Any bending or warping might interfere with the complete closing and locking of the door.

As it costs as much to haul a ton of car as it does to haul a ton of paying freight, it is imperative that the carand any-part there of be as light as possible. Furthermore, the total weight of the car and freight isdet'ermined by the strength of certain standard -aXles, so that the lighter the car the greater amount of freight a given car will be allowed tocarry.

Various means have been used to strengthen a plate metal door to meet the service conditions. Reinforcements have been secured to the door, thus materially increasing its weight, which is objectionable. Various integral reinforcements (such as corrugations) have been formed in metallic plates, which however, interfere with the discharge of the loading or have other objectionable features.

In my design the corrugations are beams supported adjacent their opposite ends by the hinges positioned at right angles to the corrugations. The hinge-beams are supported at, their opposite ends to the car bod This cross work of beams makes a very strong and eiiicient means of carrying the load. Continuous beams supported adjacent their opposite ends have great strength to resist the stresses of equally distributed loads. In my arrangement I have obtained cooperation of the corrugations and hinges and yet have not interfered with the discharge of the lading. This last feature is accomplished by the peculiar and particular configuration of the corrugation.

One of the objects of the invention is to obtain a strong durable door.for a load discharging freight car made of a metallic plate formed with integral corrugations which are positioned approximately normal to the direction of discharge of the lading but are of such configuration as not to interfere with the movement of the cargo when leaving the car.

.i-rnother object of the invention is to pro vide an arrangement whereby the corrugations are positioned substantially normal to the supporting hinges and yet will not interfere with the discharge oi the lading.

Another object of the invention is to at tach the hinges to the corrugated door so that. the securing means (usually rivets) will not interfere with the discharging of the cargo. 7

Another object of the invention is to obtain adoor reinforced by corrugations which strengthen the entire area of the door which supports the load.

Another object is to obtain a door having the integral corrugations formed so that the neutral axis is substantially midway between the planes bounding the apexes of the corrugations and yet the corrugations will not interfere with the discharge of the cargo.

The advantages of in door are applicable to any door of a i ieightcar, such as drop bottom general service cars (used in the drawings), hopper cars, swinging side door or hopper bottom coal cars, etc.

For convenience of illustration and ease of description, straight lines have been used way car with my invention applied thereto.-

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. is similar to Fig. 2 but shows the door in open position.

Fig. 4 is a section on line t4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlargedsection of the corrugation.

To illustrate one adaptation of my device, I have shown a so-called general service drop bottom gondola car wherein the major portion of the floor consists of drop doors. The door openings are surrounded by the center construction side wall and cross diaphragms. In normal or closed position the door completely closes this opening and, in fact, is a trifle larger on all sides than the opening so as to provide a lap joint between the door and the car frame members. The hinge beams are hinged to the center con struction and are supported adjacent the side wall by the raising or locking mecha nism's. Any convenient stop, such as 2, may be used to limit the downward movement of the door.

The door is made of a metallic plate (preferable steel) which is reinforced with 1,ees,171

integral corrugations 3 resting upon hinge beams i, the corrugations extending continuously their full depth between the hinges and then decreasing in depth and merging into the original plane of the plate 6 and preferably in close proximity to the stiffening flanges 7, which are formed at the opposite edges of the-door. This arrangement provides a very efficient double supported beam with overhanging end portions and obtains a cooperation between the hinge beams, the corrugations and the flanges.

These corrugations extend continuously between the opposite edges of the door and preferably under the adjacent cross diaphrams (forming theopposite edges of the door opening) as shown in Fig. 4:, so as to reinforce the entire part of the door upon which the cargo rests.

The contour of the corrugations is such that when the doors are in open or dropped position the corrugations will not interfere with the discharge of the lading. For convenience, I have described the corrugations as comprising an inner wall 10 and an outer wall 11, i. e.', the inner wall is the one positioned near the inside edge of hinge edge of the door. The inner walls are preferably substantially perpendicular to the original plane of the plate 6, so asto form stiff and strong ribs. The outer walls are preterably wider and positioned obliquely to the original plane of the plate. The obliquity is such that when the doors are open these walls are inclined toward the outer edge of the door i. e., the angle or slant of the plate of the outer walls (as shown by line 12-42 will not permit the lading to stay thereon, and furthermore, the outer wall chutes the cargo over the inner wall or web of the adjacent corrugation, so that the inner wall does not retard the movement of the cargo.

The connecting portions 13 are substan tially parallel to the original plane of the plate and other portions 14, between the corrugations, are substantially the same width as said connecting portions. Thus the neutral axis 15--15 is midway between planes 1616 bounding opposite apexes of the corrugations. As steel is practically equal in tensile and compressive strength this arrangement gives a substantially balanced beam.

The hinge is preferably secured to the connecting portion 13 of the corrugation (as at 17) so that the discharging material will not come in contact with the hinge'attaclr ing means (rivet or bolt) which might retard its movement or injure the attaching means. The flat connecting portion 13 has the further object of providing a bearing area for the'corrugation against the beam hinsze 4*.

This is a division of my co-pending apfall ll-l) i combin metallic plate formed with i corrugations, each oi" said corrugations comprising an inner wall and an outer wall and a connecting portion, said inner wall being narrower than said outer wall, said connecting portion being substantially parallel to the original plane otthe plate. 7 i

2 In combination with the other elements of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations terminating within the edges of the plate, each of said corrugations comprising an inner wall and an outer wall and a connecting portion, said inner wall being narrower than said outer wall, said connecting portion being substantially parallel to the original plane or" the plate.

3. A door for a railway car made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations, each 0 5 said corrugations comprising an inner wall and an outer wall and a connecting portion, said inner wall being narrower than said outer wall, said connecting portion being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate.

4;, In combination with the other elements of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations, each of said corrugations comprising an inner wall and an outer wall and a connecting portion, said inner wall being narrower than saidouter wall, said connecting portion being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate and equal in width to the distance between the corrugations.

5. A door for a railway car made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations,

each of said corrugations comprising an inner wall and an outer wall and a connecting portion, said inner wall being narrower than said outer wall, said connecting portion being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate and equal in width to the distance between the corrugations.

6. In combination with the other elements of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations, each o said corrugations comprising an inner wall and an outer wall and a connecting portion, said inner wall being narrower than said outer wall and substantially pen pendicular to the original plane of the plate, said connecting portion being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate,

7. In combination with theother elements of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations, each of said corrugations comprising an inner wall and an outer wall and a connecting portion, said inner wall being narrower ion with the other elements of arailway dump car; a door made olca:

position said outer walls are inclined tow the outer edge of the door, said inner walls than said outer wall andsubstantially perpend-icular to the original plane of the plate,

said connecting portion being substantially parallel tothe original plane of the plate and equal in; width to the distance between the corrugations 8. Inicombination with the other elements of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations comprisinginner walls, outer walls, and con- I necting portions; said outer walls being of. such angular relation to the original plane of the plate that when the door is in open being substantially perpendicular to the original plane of the plate, said connecting portions being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate.- i

9. In combination with the other elements of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations comp *ising inner walls, outer walls, and connecting portions; said outer walls being of such angular relation to the original plane of the plate that when the door is in open position said outer walls are inclined toward the outer edge of the door, said inner walls being substantially perpendicular to the original plane of the plate, said connecting portions being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate and equal in width to the distance between the corrugations,

10. In combination with the other elel ments of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations comprising inner walls, outer walls, and connecting portions; said outer walls being of such angular relation to the original plane otthe plate that when the door is in open position said outer walls are inclined toward the outer edge of the door, said inner walls being substantially perpendicular to the original plane of the plate, said connecting portions being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate and equal in width to the distance between the corrugations, and hinges attached. to the car body extending normal to said corrugations and secured to said connecting portion.

11, In combination with the other elements of a railway dump car; a door made of a metallic plate formed with corrugations comprising inner walls, outer walls, and connecting portions; said outer walls being of such angular relation to the original plane o the plate that when the doc is in open position said outer walls are inclined toward the outer edge of the door, said conl necting portions being substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate and equal in width to the distance between the corrugations.

iii)

12. A door for a railway car made of a metallic plate formed With corrugations terminating within the edges of the door, co1nprising inner walls substantially perpendicular to the original plane of the plate, outer walls positioned obliquely to the original plane of the plate, and connecting portions substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate.

13. A door for a railway car made of a 10 metallic plate formed with corrugations terminating within the edges of the door, comprising inner walls substantially perpendicw lar to the original plane of the plate, outer walls positioned obliquely to the original plane of the plate, and connecting portions substantially parallel to the original plane of the plate and equal in width'to the distance between the corrugations.

VINTON EL SISSON. 

